Chevrolet hopes to win back midsize sedan fans with the redesigned 2016 Malibu it says it will introduce at the New York Auto Show a little more than a month from now.

The new model, the maker hints, will be longer yet lighter and more fuel-efficient. It will get a number of new tech features. And, from the teaser image Chevy is offering up, it appears to be evolving into a more coupe-like body style. Chevy clearly needs to make some major improvement after some disappointing missteps with the current sedan.

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“Using a blank slate approach, Chevrolet designers benefited from an entirely new architecture, which for Malibu includes a wheelbase nearly four inches longer than the outgoing model,” the maker says. “That, in turn, provides increased rear legroom and interior space.”

General Motors has revealed an updated version of its 4-door Chevrolet Malibu, an unexpectedly rapid “refresh” of the midsize sedan that reflects the less than stellar reception it has received since its introduction last year.

Due to market this coming autumn, the 2014 will feature modest exterior updates and a number of more substantial changes to the interior – all reflecting feedback Chevy has received both from those who’ve bought the Malibu and from potential buyers that turned to the maker’s competitors, said Mark Reuss, president of GM’s North American operations.

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Though the current version of the Malibu has been on the market for barely a year, development “was done before we went through bankruptcy,” Reuss noted during a conversation with reporters. The vehicle reflects the way things by GM’s old management team, he added, and “was not aggressive enough.”

Chevrolet has had little success taking on the dominant Japanese with the new 2013 Malibu.

Chevrolet’s goal of regaining its once-lofty position in the U.S. midsize sedan market have failed to materialize –forcing the maker to slash prices and order up an “emergency refresh” of the only recently redesigned Malibu.

General Motor’s largest brand will slash the price on its midsize Malibu by as much as $770 hoping to keep the sedan from losing more ground to its import and domestic competitors. Introduced in early 2012, the domestic 4-door faces a formidable assortment of competitors in one of the market’s toughest segments, including all-new versions of the Ford Fusion, Nissan Altima and Honda Accord, as well as the midsize sales leader, the Toyota Camry.

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Malibu sales did post a modest gain in 2012, according to tracking firm Autodata, but the 3.3% rise, to 210,951 units, lagged well behind the overall 13.5% increase in the U.S. market. Malibu’s unanticipated shortfall is one reason why parent General Motors lost 1.5 points of market share in 2012, industry analysts report.

General Motors expects to build 500,000 vehicles with some level of electrification in the next five years. Many of them will have GM's eAssist light electrification system.

Despite poor sales of the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle, GM says it is committed to building hundreds of thousands of electrified vehicles in the next five years.

Mary Barra, senior vice president of global product development for GM, said besides plug-in technology such as in the Volt, GM will also add its eAssist mild hybrid system to more models. In fact, by 2017, GM expects to have as many as 500,000 vehicles on the road with some form of electrification.

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“The plug-in offers a unique opportunity to change the way people commute,” Mary Barra, senior vice president of Global Product Development told media attending the GM Electrification Experience in San Francisco. “Plug-based solutions will play a significant role in our technology portfolio going forward.”

A redesigned Impala will be one of 13 new models Chevrolet promises for 2013.

Some folks might consider it doubly unlucky but Chevrolet is counting on rebuilding its momentum in the months ahead as it launches 13 new products for the ’13 model-year.

The maker certainly can use a little boost. While its sales are up since January, that pace has generally lagged the overall automotive recovery, gaining a modest 11% to date. The new model-year gained a bit of traction in September as some of the first of those new offerings began to reach showrooms, generating a nearly 14% year-over-year bump. But arch-rival Toyota gained more than 41% — meaning Chevy and General Motors, overall, still continued losing market share.

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No wonder Mike Albano, chief spokesman for GM’s largest brand, declared that 2013 “is a big year for Chevrolet” during a news conference outlining the product strategy for the coming months.

We’ve already see some of those new offerings, including the all-new Spark minicar, the larger Sonic and the completely redesigned Malibu. That midsize sedan has had a two-part rollout starting with the launch of the new Eco version last Winter and now seeing more mainstream models wheel into Chevy showrooms.

Chevy hopes that it can get skeptics to feel comfortable trying out its new line-up.

Hoping to maintain its momentum as key Japanese competitors recover from last year’s production cuts, General Motors’ largest brand has announced its new Chevy Confidence program which includes a “Love it or Return it” vehicle buy-back guarantee on all 2012 and 2013 models.

The maker is also launching a “Total Confidence Pricing” discount program aimed at clearing out inventories of leftover 2012 models. Most GM plants take a mid-summer break this month to convert production to the 2013 line-up.

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“We have transformed the Chevrolet lineup, so there is no better time than now to reach out to new customers with the love it or return it guarantee and very attractive, bottom line pricing,” said Chris Perry, Chevrolet global vice president of marketing.

Potential buyers are getting a first good look at the new 2013 Nissan Altima, this week, at the New York Auto Show where it is making its global debut. Betting show-goers will like what they see – especially the 38 mile-per-gallon highway mileage number — the Japanese maker is betting it can jump from midsize also ran to a leader in the critical automotive segment.

“We are expecting to compete at the top level, and we are going to take a shot at being number one in the segment,” says Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn.

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Industry analysts anticipate Nissan will, indeed, gain some ground with the launch of the more stylish and fuel-efficient Altima. But they caution that the maker can’t take things for granted. It is far from the only manufacturer looking to gain ground in the midsize market – which is expected to generate nearly one in six new vehicle sales in the U.S. market this year.

Chevrolet offers just a subtle peak at the new Impala coming to New York next month.

The folks at Chevrolet will be busy squeezing in two significant new product updates at the New York Auto Show next month, the maker pulling the wraps off both an all-new version of the aging Impala line, as well as revealing an updated version of the big Chevy Traverse SUV.

The Traverse will reach showrooms for the 2013 model-year, but Chevrolet planners apparently want to build buzz more slowly for the big Impala sedan, which will be designated a 2014 model when it reaches showrooms.

The Impala nameplate is one of the General Motors division’s oldest, first bolting onto a sedan back in 1958. The 2014 reincarnation will be the Impala’s tenth-generation remake – and, Chevy clearly hopes, will help add momentum to a brand that set a global sales record last year, topping 5 million vehicles – dealers around the world selling one new Chevrolet car, truck or crossover, on average, every six seconds.

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“The new Impala further strengthens Chevrolet’s passenger car lineup by giving consumers a full-size sedan that balances the desire for distinction with engaging driving dynamics,” said Chris Perry, the vice president of Global Chevrolet Marketing.

The teaser image doesn’t reveal much, though it does hint that Chevy designers opted for a classic luxury cue, with a long and sweeping C-pillar and what appears to be a more coupe-like roofline than the current Impala. It also boasts plenty of chrome trim.

Unless you've been sleeping you may know that Chevy is bringing out an all-new version of the Malibu.

Ripley V. Winkel, the third generation Chevrolet dealer in Shaughnessy, NY, up the Hudson from Manhattan, decided to take his demonstrator, a 1992 Chevrolet K1500 4×4 up into the Catskills for a little R & R from the pressures of business and family.

Even in a small town where every family knew every other family and had done so for generations, he was not immune from the annoying complaints of customers, the jibes from Crusty O. Jones, the Ford dealer across the State Highway, and the demands of his wife and teenaged son and daughter. What Ripley wanted was a little peace and quiet, and he knew where to find it.

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On his way up the winding black-topped road, he nipped occasionally at the jug of hard cider on the passenger seat. Through the open window, he could hear the thunder in the heights ahead. Finally he got to his destination, a little known outlook far over the valley. He carefully backed the pickup in, grabbed his jug and lay down under an big apple tree where he could appreciate the beauty spread out in front of him.

Ford's new Fusion will borrow heavily from the design cues of the Evos Concept - minus the gullwing doors.

It’s been more than a quarter century since the original Ford Taurus made its debut – the last Detroit sedan to dominate the large and critical midsize market segment. But the number two U.S. maker is hoping to score another home run with the launch of an all-new version of the four-door Fusion at next week’s North American International Auto Show.

While the maker is being tight-lipped with details, the new sedan is already generating quite a buzz, the 2013 Fusion expected to borrow many of the design cues of the Ford Evos Concept first seen at the Frankfurt Motor Show last autumn. Along with cutting-edge styling, the new Fusion is expected to offer luxury-segment technologies – like lane departure warning – at mainstream prices.

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Ford won’t be the only domestic maker putting the emphasis on midsize models at the Detroit show, Chevrolet rolling out the production version of its new 2013 Malibu Eco, a “mild” hybrid model getting more than 40 miles per gallon in a segment that has become highly sensitive to mileage.